Greeting light



Oct. 1, 1940. w. B. STEHLIN GREETING LIGHT Filed June 7, 1939 INVENTOATTORNEYS WITNESS Patented Oct. 1, 1940 UNITED FLSTATES PATENT OFFICE 3Claims.

This invention relates to illuminable display devices and moreparticularly to a greeting light to be placed on a window sill or othersupport for display.

The invention has for its principal object to produce a device of itscharacter which is simple in structure, economically manufactured andfanciful and attractive in appearance.

A particular object is to provide a base unit with lighting meansthereon and having provision for the detachable and interchangeablemounting of different removable lantern bodies or shades thereon.

With the foregoing objects in view and certain advantages to be attainedas will hereinafter more fully appear, the invention consists in thegeneral structure and parts and combinations and arrangements of partsthereof as hereinafter described and set forth in the appended claims,reference being had to the accompanying drawing illustrating a practicaladaptation of the invention, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation ofthe device with portions broken away and shown in section to 5illustrate internal structural features;

Figure 2 is a vertical section on the line 22 of Figure 1; v Figure 3 isa horizontal section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a pictorial view illustrating the device placed for displayin a window; and

Figure 5 is a view, on an enlarged scale, showing details of parts ofthe lamp socket, base and lantern casing, the respective elements beingdetached but illustrativeof their cooperative connection in theassembled structure shown in the other figures of the drawing.

Referring now to the drawing the numeral I designates a hollow base madeof any suitable material but preferably Bakelite or kindred material. Asshown, the'base is generally oblong with an open bottom and havingupwardly convergent side and end walls and a flat top. Mounted on thetop of the base I midway between its ends and to one side of thelongitudinal axis thereof is an electric socket member 2, the main bodyportion of which is generally cylindrical and provided with a reducedshank 3 which is fitted in an aperture provided therefor in the top ofthe base, said shank being screw-threaded and of a length to receivethereon a securing nut 4 which is tightened against the under side ofthe top of the base (see Figure 2). Obviously, the socket 2 and base Imay be cast in one piece and the socket may be of either the single ormultiple lamp receptacle type, -but, preferably as shown, it is of thedouble receptacle type, having the diametrically opposed upwardlyinclined receptacle portions 5 in each of which a light bulb 6 isplaced, the object being tolocate the source "5' of light close to thebottom of a lantern body or shade l constituting the display portion ofthe device and constructed and applied to the base as will now bedescribed. The lantern body or shade 1, which is prefer 1'0 ably made ofcardboard or other suitable opaque material, may be obviouslyconstructed of trans lucent material, the only particular differencebeing that in the use of opaque material the indicia to be displayed isproduced by punching or cutting out the letters, characters or otherrepresentations, while in the use of the translucent material theindicia is printed opaquely on the material or separate piecesconstituting the indicia may be applied to the translucent body by asuitable adhesive. The lantern body orshade 1 may be of anydesirable-fanciful form, but for the particular greeting purposes asshown, the major body portion is of general oblong or rectangular formhaving square side, end and bottom walls, but the:top being preferablyinclined, as at 8, whereby to breakthe continuity of plain flatness andgive a more fanciful front appearance to the device. In the structureshown, the entire rear wall 9 of the lantern body or shade I is free atits opposite vertical and bottom margins from the adjacent marginalportions of the end and bot-- tom walls of the body I, said rear wall 9being hingedly attached at its top'marginal portion 10 to the adjacenthorizontal top portion H of the body 7, preferably by having said wall 9as an integral extension of the top portion l'! and scoring the materialalong the line where the hinge effect is to be obtained, or, obviously,said rear wall 9 may be made as a separate piece hingedly attached tothe body portion l l by the interposition of a strip of flexiblematerial or any other obvious expediency. As shown, the hinged rear wall9 is provided at its bottom edge with an inturned flange or "angular lipI2 which enters the body 1 and rests upon the bottom thereof in theclosed position of said hinged will 9, and for convenience in moving thewall 9 into closed and opened position the wall is also provided with atab or handle piece l3. In this connection, it is also noted that thevertical margins of the hinged wall 9 may or may not be flanged, asdesired, similarly to the flange I 2, depending upon the inherentstiffness and form retentive qualities of the material of which the wallis made.

For the purpose of detachably mounting the lantern body or shade 1 onthe base I, the body portion of the electric socket member 2 is groovedon opposite sides to provide parallel slideways l4 extendingtransversely of the base I, the bottoms of the grooves being flush withthe top face of the base and the distance between the adjacent top faceportions of .the base and the top walls of the grooves beingapproximately equal to the thickness of the bottom of the lantern bodyor shade I and preferably slightly less in such dimension so that theadjacent edge portions of said body bottom at opposite sides of atransverse openended slot [5 in the bottomare placed under a certainamount of compression whereby the lantern body or shade I isfrictionally held in place upon the base I after forcing the body intoposition with the slotted portion 15 straddling the reduced intermediateportion of the socket member 2, the forcible attaching and removingoperation of the lantern body or shade I being of course effected withthe rear wall 9 in opened position.

In the device as illustrated in the drawing the vertical front wall ofthe lantern body or shade I bears the legend Merry Christmas, theletters thereof being punched out by the conventional stencilingprocess, as at It, and associated with the legend are cutawaysimulations of trees, as at H, which simulations are also provided inthe inclined top portion 8 of the lantern or shade body. As shown, thecutaway characters are left uncovered. However, it is obvious that theymay be covered with colored translucent material placed thereover on theinner faces of the adjacent wall portions of the body. In order toprovide a reflecting surface on the rear wall 9 of the lantern or shadebody an inner lining sheet l8 of tinfoil or other suitable material isapplied to the wall by an adhesive or such characteristic surface mayotherwise be provided. In this connection, it is here pointed out thatwith the location of the light bulbs 6 close to the bottom of thelantern body or shade and at least in a plane below the illuminableindicia, the light is balanced and distributedevenly within the lanternbody or shade and delivered through the cutaway indicia by reflectionrather than directly from the source. As shown, the extension cord l9 bywhich the electric lamp socket member 2 is attached to the conventionalelectrical outlet is passed through a notch 20 provided in the bottomedge portion of the rear wall of the hollow base I. By this provisionthere is no interference by the cord in the placement of the base I on awindow sill or other supporting surface.

In accordance with the invention the lantern body or shade I may be madein different sizes so as to fit in nested relation the one within theother for storage and shipping convenience, and each bearing a diiferentgreeting legend or indicia appropriate to diiferentseasons or occasionsand applied interchangeably to a single base I, inasmuch as the slottedbottom portions of the lantern body or shade may be accordingly producedin like dimensions. That is to say, one

lantern body or shade will have the legend Merry Christmas thereon,another bearing the legend Happy New Year, and so on.

While the structure illustrated and herein described embodies apractical adaptation of the invention, it is obvious that considerablemodification and alteration may be made therein without departing fromthe invention as defined in the appended claims. The invention,therefore, is not limited to. the specificconstruction and arrangementshown. 1

What is claimed is:

1. An illuminable display device of the character described, comprisinga portable supporting base provided with an upstanding lamp socketelement on its top, and a detachable lantern casing mounted on saidsupporting base and having a detachable retentive engagement directlywith the lamp socket element on the base and the lamp-receiving portionof the element being disposed Within the casing.

2. In an illuminable display device of the character described, aportable supporting base having a flat top, lighting means includinganelectric socket member mounted on the base top and projecting upwardlytherefrom, and a hollow lantern body detachably mountable on-said base,said body having an openable side wall and a transverse open-ended slotin its bottom wall extending inwardly from its opening side to straddlesaid socket member in slidable interlocking engagement therewith and thebottom of the lantern body resting flatwise on the base top, a side wallportion of the lantern body opposed to the openable side wall thereofhaving characteristic indicia thereon, said indicia being displayed withintensified contrast by the passage of light through the carrying wallfrom within the lan' tern body.

3. In an illuminable display device of the character described, a hallowopen-bottomed base having upwardly convergent side and-end walls and aflat top wall, one of the side walls having a notched lower edgeportion, the top wall having an aperture therein, lighting meansincluding an electric socket member'having a shank portion inserted inthe apertured top portion of the base and held in place by a securingnut impinging the under side of the base top wallysaid socket memberhaving parallel grooves in its opposite sides extending transversely ofthe base top with the bottoms of the grooves flush with the base top,and a hollow lantern body detachably mounted on the-base, said bodyhaving an openable side wall and an open-ended slot in its bottom wallextending inwardly from its'opening side, said slotted portion of thebottom wall straddling said socket member with the edge portionsslidably fitted in the parallel grooves of the socket member and theadjacent bottom portions of the lantern body slidably supported on thebase top, the wall portion of the'lantern body opposed to the openablewall thereof having characteristic indicia thereon, said indicia beingdisplayed with intensified contrast by the passage of light through thecarrying wall from within the body.

B. STEI-ILIN.

